My wife smokes a pack of cigarettes a week. I am worried about her
health. She is not working outside of the home, so keeps asking me
for cigarette money. What should I do?

Answer by Catholic Answers on 8/22/2014:

T.J.--

Your wife is a grown woman, who is capable of making her own
choices. By virtue of your marriage, the money the two of you have
does not belong to you personally, even if you are the one who works
outside the home. A pack of cigarettes a week works out to about $5
per week for two to three cigarettes per day. Having known many
smokers in my lifetime, it seems to me that your wife's smoking is not
excessive (at least insofar as we only consider monetary cost for the
cigarettes).

That said, I completely understand that you are concerned for your
wife's health. I can only recommend that you express your concerns,
and ask that, if she decides to continue smoking, she do what she
can to avoid exposing others to secondhand smoke (e.g., smoking
outside).